USA (MNN)
— Rising fuel costs in the United
States have been linked to the second postage
increase in 17 months. Broken down, it
looks like this: for every penny gas goes up, it costs the United States Postal
Service an average of eight million dollars a year to keep the system running
at its peak. Last year, the Postal
Service handled a mail volume of 213 billion pieces.
Such increases have hit Bible Pathway Ministries hard,
increasing their shipping costs three and a half times. Bible Pathway Ministries' Ken Sharp explains: "To
send an 'M' bag, which is economy-surface mail, it was $1.05 a pound to send
materials overseas. It may take a month or two to get there, but it was very
economical to get a big amount to a church group or a village. That price has
jumped to $3.95 a pound."
The USPS did away with the "M" bag, leaving only higher-priced options for sending materials. That's
hindered their work, but Sharp says they're working out distribution problems
creatively. "We just recently sent
a lot of material overseas with a church going on a mission trip; they
took it on the plane with them in suitcases. Another way we're doing it is trying to coordinate with a lot of other
ministries that are sending big containers.
And now we have 11 different languages of Bible Pathway devotions on
the Internet."
By land, sea, or air, thirty tons of Bibles and Bible
Pathways were sent overseas last year in response to requests for spiritual
help. Those requests are still growing,
coming in from hungry hearts who have nowhere else to turn.
The solutions for life's problems cannot be found in
scientific discoveries, in medicine, technology, or better government, but
through God the Creator and through the Scriptures. It's the heartbeat of Bible Pathway. Many are responding to the hope they find in
Christ. Many others are making sure
these new believers have access to the tools they need to help them grow. Click here if you can help.
